Hoop talk and classic Husky matchups: New sports features come to UWTV

UWTV is stepping into the world of UW sports with new programs featuring commentary from coaches and players, game previews and recaps — and rebroadcasts of some of the greatest sports matchups in Husky history.

UW basketball will be the topic each week for Husky Hoops Talk at 6:30 p.m. each Tuesday. The show — viewable either on cable channel 27 or online — will feature UW men’s basketball Head Coach Lorenzo Romar and women’s Head Coach Tia Jackson talking about their teams.

The series, which began on Dec. 29, will also offer previews of upcoming opponents, recaps of recent games and interviews with Husky athletes. Visit UWTV online to learn which players will be featured from week to week.

And for diehard fans, UWTV has begun a new series called Husky Classics, showing some of the UW’s most famous games from years past. These are viewable on Channel 27 — but not online — at 7 p.m. every Monday night.

It’s part of what John Haslam, the new general manager of UWTV, calls the station’s new mission to be the “front porch” of the University “by showcasing the many ways that the UW connects with and serves the people of the region.”

Husky Classics began in style on New Year’s Day with the broadcast of three of the most famous football games of recent years. The three-game lineup featured the 1990 match with USC (where the USC quarterback was famously quoted as saying, “All I saw was purple. No jerseys, no numbers, just purple.”), the 1993 Apple Cup and the 1994 “Whammy in Miami.”

Haslam said the classic broadcasts are made possible through a contract with the Fox Sports Net — a group of regional cable TV networks — and that UWTV and FSN are working collaboratively on a number of UW sports-related projects. He said while the classic games are the property of the UW, FSN’s involvement “has made it easier for us to acquire the games in a state that allows us to air them easily. We appreciate their willingness to partner with us on this project.”

He said that more sports programming is planned at UWTV, which in recent years has evolved from a television station to a multimedia organization. New features to come will include live coverage of UW women’s softball games.

If you missed the New Year’s Day broadcasts — Dawgcasts, perhaps? — those three games will be shown again on coming Mondays in January. Then the Huskies will be seen to defeat California on Jan. 25 (the game was on Oct. 19, 1991), will trounce Nebraska on Feb. 1 (from Sept. 19, 1992 — known as among the loudest games ever at Husky Stadium) — and will beat heck out of Stanford on Feb. 8 (from Sept. 4,1993).

And they’ll just keep playing and winning every Monday night.

“From scholarship to research and from athletics to campus life, UWTV wants to tell stories that inform, educate and entertain,” Haslam said, adding that the next year will also bring other “new programming that will appeal to people interested in subjects like business, health, the arts and campus life, but with a uniquely UW perspective.”

For more information about UWTV and its new sports programming, visit online .